Door catch



` May 5, 1959 D. HEYER' 2,885,237

DOOR CATCH Filed Nov. 8, 1954 aff/fw IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent O DOOR `CATCH Don Heyer, El Monte, Calif., assgnor to International Research Corp., a corporation of California Application November 8, 1954, Serial No. 467,470

3 Claims. (Cl. 292-70) This invention relates to door catches which comprise frictionally engageable male and female catch members, particularly non-metallic catch members of this type made of flexible and somewhat resilient material such as polyethylene or a similar plastic.

A door catch of the type to which this invention relates forms the subject matter of my pending application for U.S. Letters Patent, Serial Number 452,264, filed August 26, 1954. As shown in this pending application, the catch comprises as the male member, a ball-head wood screw. The female member is made of polyethylene and has a bore of special formation for receiving and frictionally holding the male member. Attaching ears are provided on the female member for securing the latter by means of screws to a surface of a shelf or door frame.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a door catch of the type described wherein all of `the advantages of the catch shown in the aforesaid pending application are obtained with a simple form of female catch member having no attaching ears and adapted to be mounted in a bore or hole formed in either the door, a cabinet shelf, or the door frame, so as to be securely held for cooperation with the male catch member.

Compared to female catch members of this type as heretofore produced, the female catch member of this invention, in being formed to be seated and held in a bore or hole, is an improvement in that the construction thereof is simplified, less material is required in the formation thereof, the cost of manufacture thereof is reduced, and no useable space is taken up thereby.

lIt is another object of this invention to provide a female catch member such as described which is constructed and mounted so that the yieldability thereof is utilized in a novel manner to serve the dual function of frictionally holding the male member in place and restraining dislodgement of the female member from the opening or bore in which it is mounted.

Further it is an object of this invention to provide a female catch member such as described in which a single screw may be carried thereby in a manner such that upon placing the catch member upon the end of a screw driver with the latter engaged with the screw, the catch member readily and easily may be forced into the bore or hole provided therefor and the screw driven in place in one simple operation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a female catch member such as described in which a simple rib formation of the exterior surface thereof assures that the catch member will be securely frictionally held in place, this formation in some cases being sucient to hold the female member in place without the aid of a screw.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide a door catch such as described in which the construction of the female catch member and the manner in which it is mounted, make it practicable to construct the catch of larger sizes than usually provided for cabinet doors,

p ICC whereby the catch may be used in connection with closet doors and similar doors of this size.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a novel female catch member such as described which is constructed to prevent the formation of a vacuum therein which would interfere with the withdrawal of the male catch member.

A further object hereof is to provide a female catch member such as described which is substantially concealed when mounted in place in a bore or hole formed in either the door, a cabinet shelf or the door frame.

This invention possesses many other advantages and has other objects which may be made more easily apparf ent from a consideration of several embodiments of the invention. For this purpose there are shown two forms in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. These forms will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a cabinet having a shelf and a door, showing a catch embodying the invention, as installed on the shelf and the door, the female catch member in this instance being mounted in the shelf in position to be engaged by the male catch member on the door;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the female catch member; 1

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l; showing the male catch member in a position about to enter the female member;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 of a modified form of this invention, showing the male catch member engaged in the bore of the female member.

As shown in Fig. l, a cabinet 6 having a shelf 7 and a door 8 is provided with a catch embodying the present invention. lln this instance the female member 9 is mounted in the shelf and the male member 10 is mounted on the door. However, it should be noted that the female member may be mounted on the door and the male member on the shelf. Moreover, the female member or I the male member could be mounted on the door frame rather than the shelf.

In accordance with this invention, the female member 9 is made of a tough yieldable and somewhat resilient material such as polyethylene or a similar plastic. It is in p the form of a tube of circular cross section and has a rounded end wall 11 closing one end of the bore 12 there- The bore 12 formed with a rib 13 and a groove 14 whereby the ball head 15 of the male member 10 will be frictionally but releasably held therein. This rib and groove formation may be of helical form, as here shown; It has been found that such formation assures a tight frictional holding of the male catch member in all posi# tions of the latter in the bore 12.

' The male catch member 10 is in the form of a ball head wood screw including the head 15 and a screw shank 16.

The female member 9 is especially constructed to be seated and held in a bore or opening 17. This bore, as here shown, extends into the shelf 7, but it is obvious that it could be provided in the door frame or in the door itself, in which latter case the male member 10 would be fastened to the shelf or the door frame.

The bore 17 is formed of such diameter that the female member is tightly fitted therein. In this connection it should be noted that the bore 12 in the female member is of slightly less diameter than the head 15 of the male member 10, thereby requiring that the material of the female member must yield and be displaced when the ball head 15 is forced into the female member. This yielding assures an effective holding of the male member.

Provision is made for the displacement of the material forming the female member 9 in such a manner that not only will the male member be securely frictionally held, but the female member also held against being pulled out of the bore 17 when withdrawing the male member 10. Accordingly, the exterior of the female member 9 is formed with a series of longitudinal ribs 19 defining grooves 20 therebetween. These ribs will frictionally grip the wall of the bore or opening 17 to hold the female member in place. When the ball head 15 is forced into the bore 12 of the female member 9, the grooves 20 permit the material of the female member to be radially displaced between the ribs. This will cause the ribs to tightly engage the wall of the bore 17 and thus hold the female member against withdrawal when the ball head 1S is withdrawn from the female member.

As shown in Fig. 3, the wall 11 is provided with an opening 21 for reception of a screw 22 which is frictionally retained therein. Upon mounting the female catch member on the end of a screw driver (not shown) with the latter engaged with the screw, the female member may be easily inserted into the bore or opening 17 and the screw driven in place, thereby readily securing the female member in the bore or opening in one simple operation.

The female member 9 may be mounted so that the outer end thereof projects somewhat from the member in which it is mounted, as shown in Fig. 3, or may be mounted substantially flush therewith, depending upon the arrangement of the door and door frame. In all cases it is substantially embedded and concealed so that it takes up no appreciable useable space.

A bead or rim 24 is formed on the exterior of the outer end of the female member 9. This bead in all installations will project slightly beyond the outer end of the bore 17 to act as a buffer or stop for the door.

Means are provided to prevent the formation of a vacuum in the bore 12 of the female member, whereby the ball head 15 of the male member may be withdrawn. Accordingly, a slot or opening 25 is formed in the female member so as to extend through the wall 11 and communicate the bore 12 in the female member with one of the longitudinal grooves 20. Thus, when the male member is inserted in the female member the air in the bore 12 will escape through the slot 25 and the groove 20 to the atmosphere.

A modied form of the female catch member, as shown in Fig. 5, is identical with the member 9 shown Vin Figs. 1-4, except that no screw is provided in connection therewith to hold it in a bore or opening therefor. Accordingly, the same reference characters are applied to like parts in Figs. 1 through 5.

ln some installations the tight lit of the female catch member in the bore or opening 1,7, as effected by the ribs 19 and the increased holding action thereof caused by the displacement of the material as indicated in Fig. at 27, will be sucient to securely hold this catch member against being pulled out of the bore 17 when the male member is withdrawn.

It will now be apparent that this invention provides a novel and highly ellicient catch in having the female member 9 made of a tough, wear-resisting plastic material such as polyethylene and constructed so that it may be seated and held in a bore or opening, for cooperation with a ball head wood screw as the male catch member. Such a catch is superior to door catches heretofore produced in view of the simplicity of construction of the female element, the relatively small amount of the plastic material employed, the ease and low cost of production, the provision for embedding or mounting the female member in a partially concealed and protected position taking up no appreciable useable space, the self-aligning provisions, the ease of installation, and the longer life thereof.

It should be noted that the female member 9, in being made of polyethylene or like material, in the form here shown is quite small and takes up but little space. This small size of the female element makes it easy to provide a suitable small bore or hole in a shelf or door for reception and retention of the female element, in accordance with this invention.

The rounded end of the female catch member 9 facilitates the press-fitting of the catch member in the bore or opening 17 provided to receive and retain the catch member in place. It also assures that the air-escape slot 25 will maintain open communication with one of the grooves 20 while the catch member is seated in the bore 17.

I claim:

1. In a door catch; a tubular female catch member adapted to be inserted into and held within a bore formed ina door or the structure with which the door is associated; said catch member being formed of yieldable nonmetallic material and having a bore therein for receiving and frictionally holding a male catch member; and rib and groove formations on the interior and exterior of said female catch member for frictionally engaging said male member and the wall of the bore for receiving said female member, respectively.

2. In a door catch; a tubular female catch member adapted to be inserted into and held within a bore formed in ya door or the structure with which the door is associated; said catch member being formed of yieldable nonmetallic material and having a bore therein for receiving and frictionally holding a male catch member; and rib and groove formations on the interior `and exterior of said female catch member for frictionally engaging said male member and the wall of the bore for receiving said female member, respectively, the rib and groove formation on the exterior of said female member extending longitudinally thereof.

3. In a door catch; a tubular female catch member adapted to be inserted into and held within a bore formed in a door or the structure with which the door is associated; said catch member being formed of yieldable nonmetallic material and having a bore therein `for receiving and frictionally holding la male catch member; and rib and groove formations on the interior and exterior of said female catch member for frictionally engaging said male member and the wall of the bore for receiving said female member respectively, the rib and groove formation on the exterior of said female member extending longitudinally thereof, the rib and groove formation on the interior of the female member being helical.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 199,451 Knowlton Jan. 22, 1878 426,606 Scott Apr. 29, 1890 444,338 Dodge Jan. 6, 1891 665,901 Hampton Jan. 15, 1901 1,013,006 Fairchild Dec. 26, 1911 1,548,703 Beeby Aug. 4, 1925 2,105,216 Evulich Jan. 11, 1938 2,150,080 Rawlings Mar. 7, 1939 2,289,873 Claud-Mantle July 14, 1942 2,659,100 Cramer Nov. 17, 1953 2,709,389 Van Der Kleij May 3l, 1955 2,767,005 Jorgensen Oct. 16, 1956 2,785,453 Wentz Mar. 19, 1957 

